Jeremiah 6:10-21
Perhaps what characterizes our times more than anything else is the incessant and oft-times raucous clamor for change filling the ecclesiastical air. The password of those advocating change is “relevance.” The church, it is said, “must be relevant to the times, for only in this way will the Church be able to speak intelligently and effectively to our modern age.” I’m not talking about modern technology, i.e., the latest electronic and audio equipment. This clamor for change touches the very essence of the Church. Changes are introduced in the theology of the Church and are sought in the historical Confessions of the Church. The old is no good anymore; it’s outdated, too dogmatic, too hard! Changes are made in the liturgy of the Church, both in the manner of worship and in the liturgical forms used for the sacraments, marriage, confirmation, profession of faith, etc. Changes are suggested for the calling of the Church as she goes about seeking to be effective in today’s world. Many churches are engaged in social reform and have adopted a social gospel, focusing on social problems—the homeless, the lack of suitable housing, proper nutrition, education, global warming, climate control, saving the planet; also the problems of alcoholism, drugs, crime, etc., and all the while downplaying or ignoring God, sin, salvation, heaven and hell, and instead, looking to the government as the savior and answer to society’s problems.
Many evangelical churches have changed to seeker-friendly institutions composed of believers and unbelievers alike, with the hope that the unbelievers will eventually convert. But for that to happen, any aspect of “church” which could offend those who enter the doors is carefully avoided. Preaching sermons has been replaced by brief moralistic homilies, light drama, personal testimonies, a band, modern music, etc. The desire for the spiritual milk and meat of God’s Word, whereby one may grow, is disappearing. The sacraments are administered without any discretion. Discipline is practically unheard of. To implement these changes, changes are also made in the work of seminaries—in the curriculum and in the instruction which is given. In light of all this, I find particularly applicable the word of God as it appears in the words of Jeremiah 6:16: “Thus says the Lord, ‘Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your souls.’ But they said, ‘We will not walk therein.’”
The prophet Jeremiah was called to prophesy in Judah during evil days. Judah had departed from the ways of Jehovah. Our Scripture suggests very strongly that also among the people of Judah, the cry for change was in the air. Judah had wearied of the old ways and the nation was looking for something new. The old ceremonies of the law had become an obnoxious burden, and the complaint was made that the worship of God according to the old ways was no longer meaningful. These ways were unattractive to the people, especially the youth of the nation and no longer attracted them to the temple. New ways of worship and new methods of expressing the faith had to be discovered if the nation was to be relevant to the youth and to the heathen surrounding them in Canaan. So the nation had struck out into new paths, experimenting and blazing new trails through uncharted lands, attempting to find different paths to walk in their worship and faith. This was not unlike what the apostle Paul found while at Athens about which we read: “For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spend their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing” (Acts 17:21). As he warned the Galatians: “I marvel that you are tuning away from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel which is not another” (Gal. 1:6-7).
These new paths led the people into many kinds of abominations, wickedness, and immorality. Jeremiah describes some of it quite vividly: “Because their transgressions are many;Their backslidings have increased. How shall I pardon you for this? Your children have forsaken Me And sworn by those that are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, then they committed adultery and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses. They were like well-fed lusty stallions; everyone neighed after his neighbor’s wife. ‘Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord….For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously with Me,’ says the Lord. They have lied about the Lord, and said, ‘It is not He. Neither will evil come upon us, Nor shall we see sword or famine.’ And the prophets become wind, For the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them…. But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart; they have revolted and departed. They do not say in their heart, ‘Let us now fear the Lord our God Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turned those things away, and your sins have withheld good from you…. An astonishing and horrible thing has been committed to the land. The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; and My people love to have it so” (5:6-13, 23-31).
Instead of repenting of their sins, they just stopped calling it sin and pretended that God was still pleased with their offerings, recalling, in particular, one of Isaiah’s six exclamations of woe proclaiming God’s great displeasure upon such wickedness among the people: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isa. 5:20). Again, not unlike what we see happening in our nation and in many churches today, often under the guise of Christianity: accommodating homosexuality, same-sex marriages, abortion, etc., and no longer calling it sin. Nonetheless, to them, as well as to the church and us today, the Word of God, through the prophet Jeremiah, comes with force and power. “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it” (Jer. 6:16). Obviously, the text uses a figure of speech. It is a figure of speech which is quite common to Scriptures. The text describes the life of the people of Judah in terms of a way and a path in which the people were to walk. It is that word, path, that is of particular concern to us. This “old path” is better defined by the word “ancient.” It is called ancient for a number of reasons. In the first place, the word ancient literally means eternal. And the word suggests that this path is above all marked by God. It is the path prescribed by God from all eternity, which God defines that His people may walk in it. Secondly, it is called ancient because it is not a new path, recently discovered or made, but it is, as a matter of fact, very, very old. And thirdly, it is called ancient because it is well-trodden, deeply worn, and clearly marked because many people have walked that way before. No doubt this is also why this path is called “good.” It is good because it has been defined by God Himself; and many, having walked this path, have found it good.
There is no doubt about the reference as far as the nation of Judah was concerned. These paths were the ways prescribed by the Law of God, which was given to Israel through Moses, God’s servant. The body of Mosaic legislation prescribed precisely for the nation of Israel how Israel was to walk and live as God’s people in a way pleasing to Him. It described particularly the whole way of worship of God in the temple, with the sacrifices and ceremonies of the law which set Israel apart from all the nations under heaven. What makes these paths equally relevant for the Church today is that these paths were essentially types foreshadowing the coming of Christ. The promise of the coming Christ shone through all the prescriptions of the law. In the hope of that promise, Israel and Judah were called to walk. The Heidelberg Catechism teaches that we know this “From the Holy Gospel, which God Himself revealed first in Paradise; afterwards proclaimed by the holy Patriarchs and Prophets, and foreshadowed by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law; and finally fulfilled by His well-beloved Son” (HC #19). Thus the Catechism teaches that the Gospel is taught throughout the Bible; that it is Christ-centered. In these paths, which foreshadowed Christ, Israel had walked in ancient times.
There is an application here to our times as well, which we must not overlook. The ancient paths are still the paths prescribed by God Himself and expressive of His will for us. These paths are clearly and unmistakably defined in God’s infallible Word, which is to be the lamp to our feet and a light to our path, cf. Ps. 119:105. They define the fundamental principles which govern all our life and conduct. These paths define the manner of our worship of God, both as individuals and as Church. The old paths define all our life and walk in the world as we are called to be children of our Father in heaven, children by adoption through grace for Christ’s sake (cf. Eph. 1:5-6).
These paths are also ancient because we have spiritual fathers who have walked in these ways before us. Today, too, the path is well-defined because it has been trodden down by the feet of countless thousands who have come this way before. They are the paths of the old confessions: Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Canons of Dordt, Westminster Standards, etc.; the liturgical forms for the sacraments, confirmation, marriage, etc., drawn up centuries ago, all defining the ways in which our fathers have walked.
The command which came to Judah is very sharp and contains even an awful indictment. Judah had begun to walk in new paths—uncharted and unmarked—experimenting with new forms of worship and new theologies. More sadly, the text suggests Judah had forgotten the ancient ways. This is quite obviously the implication of the command: “ASK for the old paths.” Such asking presupposes that there was a need to know. And this could only be because the ancient paths had been forgotten.
This is usually the way it goes. It is true, of course, that the longer one pursues new paths, the more he forgets the ancient paths. But the fact remains that the clamor of change, the incessant appeal for something new, most often arises out of appalling ignorance of the ancient ways. There is something ironic about this. Those who shout the loudest for changes in theology and worship scarcely know what the ancient paths are. The plea for change arises out of ignorance of both Scripture and the old Confessions of the Church.
Judah had forgotten the old paths. This was reminiscent of the days of the judges. “So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord which He had done for Israel. (…) When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals” (Judg. 2:7, 10-11). It was an echo of Hosea’s bitter complaint: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hos. 4:6). These were the days when King Josiah and his workers found the book of the law in the temple, and very few in all of Judah even recognized what it was! To this Judah comes the command: Stop in the ways you are going! Look about you. Take inventory. Examine the matter of your way. And inquire concerning the ancient paths. And once you have learned of these paths, walk in THEM.
And what of these old paths, of God’s commands? Have we forgotten? For example, “Remember the Sabbath day [now the Lord’s Day] to keep it holy,” the fourth and longest commandment and the only one to begin with the word “Remember.” WHY? Because, I believe, it’s the most easily forgotten, the most profaned. (There’s a long history and list of examples of that in the Old Testament, along with God’s judgments). It is often the most neglected. So much so that we are admonished: “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as we see the Day approaching” (Heb. 10:25). Fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, grandpas and grandmas, brothers and sisters in the Lord, and families, assemble and join yourselves together and “remember the sabbath day.” “Keep it holy.” But how? What to do? What not to do? So many questions. So many debates. Why don’t we remember the words of Isaiah? Or have we forgotten? “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord, honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isa. 58:13-14). These are old words, old commands, old paths that came from God. Are we walking in them?
No less does this come to the church world of today, and to the congregations of the Reformed Church in the U.S., especially to its officers. The clamor for change is a danger that is always there. And we must be on our guard. There are always those advocating change, and their arguments can sound very persuasive. The call comes to all of us to inquire concerning the ancient ways. That implies, first of all, a constant searching of the Scriptures to learn the will of Jehovah God, for the ancient ways are still His prescription for us. But it implies also a thorough acquaintance with our confessions and creeds and a concerted effort to teach them to the members, young and old. These are the ways that are old. They are hallowed by the feet of countless thousands who have gone this way before. Over the centuries, since the time of the apostles, the saints of Jehovah have walked these paths until they are hard-packed, well-trodden paths, clearly visible for all who want to see. And they are paths upon which much blood has fallen, for those who have walked this way heretofore have often done so at the price of their lives. The church has a history, a blood-stained history. It has roots. The church is called the ground and pillar of truth. That truth, and God’s Word is truth, does not change. “That truth endures to all generations” (Ps. 100:5). “The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God shall stand forever” (lsa. 40:8). “Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35).
Permit me to take this opportunity to press home this truth upon everyone, especially the younger generation, those replacing the old guard. You may be sure that you will meet with this clamor for change. You may be sure, too, that the arguments will sometimes sound persuasive and convincing. You may be sure that the temptation will be strong to change your theology, your confessions, your way of worship in the name of relevance. I urge upon you this truth of God’s Word. It is Jehovah God who commands it. Thus saith Jehovah: “Ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it” (Jer.6:16). Let “the Word of God which lives and abides forever” (1 Pet. 1:23), the whole counsel of God, be your rule and guide always. Honor the paths which your fathers have trod. For the paths they have marked out are paths given to them by the Spirit of Christ, always present in the Church, “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8).
Finally, what was Judah’s response to this command? Coldly, they said, “We will not walk therein” (Jer. 6:16). They would not listen to the sound of the trumpet from the watchmen, their prophets (cf. 6:17). They would not stop in the way they were going. They would not even pause to consider their way. They would not inquire concerning the ancient paths. They were indifferent and profane. They had no delight in God’s Word and were unashamed. How characteristic of our own times! People continue to invent new ways to worship God and do their own thing.
But in these “new ways,” there is no rest. There is something paradoxical about this. New ways are never satisfying. They never bring peace. They never have an end. Always the one who sets his feet upon these ways is driven on by the restless desire of something else, something new again. The new, once tried, becomes old and stale. Its attractiveness is soon gone and its allurement soon turned to ashes. And so, to tickle the fancy, to satiate the craving for that which is new, yet other new ways must be devised and new paths explored. It’s like the times described in 2 Tim. 4:3-4: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned to fables.”
To this there is no end. There can be no end, for the wrath of God abides on those who depart from His Word. That’s exactly what happened to the children of Judah. The prophet Jeremiah says: “To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it. Therefore, I am full of the wrath of the Lord; I am weary of holding it in. Pour it upon the children in the street, and upon the gathering of young men, also; both husband and wife shall be taken, the elderly and the very aged” (Jer. 6:10-11).
If the new becomes old, the opposite is also true: the old is always new. The ancient paths are always new paths, and they remain such. They are new because they are the paths of God. To the hungry and thirsty heart of the child of God, they are never old. To the guilt-burdened soul, they can be nothing but new—every time he walks in them. For they are the paths of God and His Christ. They are the paths of the age-old and yet ever-new truths of the Scriptures,
the truths that “make one wise unto salvation” (2 Tim. 3:15); the truths that set one free from sin and death (cf. Rom. 6:18; 8:2); the truth that brings the only comfort in life and in death:
“That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; yea, all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him.” (HC#1)
That truth never ceases to thrill anew the hearts and souls of God’s people, though they should walk in it their whole life through, and about which the prophet so wonderfully laments: “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23).
Jesus came to make these truths, these paths, known: the will of the Father; the way to the Father; the words of eternal life. Hear Him as He calls His own unto Himself: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matt. 11:28-29). One day our walk in these old paths will come to an end on this earth. Our constant prayer for our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren is that they will continue to “ask for the old paths wherein is the good way and walk therein,” for that will bring us all together again in the new heavens and new earth. So one more time: “Stand in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, wherein is the good way, and walk therein and you shall find rest for your souls.” May all of us be given the grace to answer: “We will walk therein.” AMEN.
Rev. Vernon Pollema
Bakersfield, CA